Electric circuit interrupter and disconnecting device



Jan. 15, 1946. B.R..YHERMANN 2,393,163

ELECTRIC CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER AND DISCONNECTING DEVICE Filed Dec. 13, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor: Benjamin Ri-iermahn,

by WW6.

His Attorney.

Patented Jan. 15, 1946 ELECTRIC CIRCUIT INTERRUPTER AND DISCON'NECTING DEVICE Benjamin R. Hermann, Lanesborough, Mass, .assignor to General Electric Company, a cor-poraticnof New York Application December 13, 1941,-SerialNo. 422,901

Claims.

My invention relates toelectric "circuit interrupters and-disconnecting devices and more par ticularly to a fuse cutout type of circuit interminals or contacts are mounted within the housing and the fuse tube is mounted on the cover and provided with contact to engage the con tacts or terminals in the housing when the cover is closed. Such cutouts are also provided with indicating means and, upon operation of the fuse device, movement of the fuse tube or of the cover or of both the cover and the fuse tube results.

My invention is concerned with an electric cutout and disconnecting device for interrupting larger blocks of power than such devices have been commonly used for heretofore.

Accordingly, it is an object of my invention to provide a new and improved cutout and disconnecting device combination for controlling larger blocks of power than such devices have commonly'been used for heretofore.

It is another object of my invention to provide a fuse cutout including a new and improved fuse link extracting means 'for quickly extracting any remaining portions of the fuse link to insure circuit interruption inthe shortest possible time.

It is another object of my invention to provide a fuse cutout including an articulated fuse link pull-out means.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a fuse cutout and disconnecting device including new and improved means for making electrical connections with the external electric .circuit which the fuse device .or disconnecting device is adapted 'to protector control.

A further object of myinvention is to provide a new and improved fuse cutout device which may readily be converted to .a disconnecting device, which takes up a small amount of space, provides wide separation between the contacts, and .gives an indication of the condition of the circuit either when used as a fuse cutout device or a disconnecting device while, at the same time, remaining protected against the weather, such as ice, snow, or rain.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent as the following de- 'ence numerals.

scription proceeds and the'features of novelty which characterize my inventicnwill be pointed out with; particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

For a better understanding of my invention, reference may be had to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 'is'a sidesectional view of my improved fuse cutout with the fuse intact and the cutout in the/closed position, Fig. 2 is a view of the rear of thecover of the fuse cutout device shown in Fig.1, Fig. 3 1s an exploded view of a portion of the fuse cutout including the articulated fuse link pull-out means of my invention, Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 4-+4 of Fig. 1, Fig. 5 isa side sectional View similar to Fig. 1 showing thedisconnecting device of my invention in theclosed circuit position, Fig. 6 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 2 showing the rear of the cover including the disconnecting blade of *Fig. 5, and'Fig. '7 is a sectional view taken online 'creepage barrier H) which separates two stationary'terminal assemblies generally indicated at H and I2, respectively, mounted within housing In. The upper and lower-terminal assemblies ii and I2, except for 'one'a'dditional part associated with the upper terminal assembly II and described hereinafter, are identical in construction and, accordingly, only the upper one of these terminal assemblies will be described in detail and the corresponding parts of the assemblies H and I2 will be designated by the same refer- Terminal assembly H comprises a U-shaped terminal support l'3 which is adapted to be cemented into a pair of pockets I 4 in the housing 10, only one of which is visible in Fig. 1 since the other is immediately behind the one shown, which pockets are separated by a fin not discernible in the drawings but whichare interconnected by means of an opening or notch in this separatingfin. This interconnection is provided to facilitate the pouring of the cementing material, which ispreferably poured hot through the lead entrance opening H3 in housing It. By using a plurality of pockets into which the cementing material is poured, a stronger construction is provided than if U-shaped terminal sup- I1 is provided so that terminal |1 may be rigidly supported by U-shaped terminal support |3 by means of bolt 19. The extension |8 is provided with lugs to engage the edges of the U-shaped terminal support I3 so that the heavy lead coming through lead entrance opening l6 for engagement with terminal |1 will not cause the terminal to swivel about bolt |9 when the heavy lead is being formed or bent externally of the housing It.

Terminal assembl further includes a pair of U-shaped contact clips 2| which are electrically connected to extension l8 of terminal |1 through a ring-shaped contact 22, the contact clips being clamped to the extension It by bolt H). In order to insure good contact at contact clips 2|, I provide a pluralit of spring strips 23 which are riveted as at 24 to U-shaped terminal support l3 and are arranged to provide spring backing means for contact clips 2|. Ihe upper terminal assembly II also includes a latch clip 25 which is riveted or fastened in any suitable manner thereto and the purpose of which will be set forth hereinafter.

The terminal |1 shown in enlarged sectional view in Fig. 4 and disclosed and claimed in my divisional application Serial No. 474,434, filed Februar 2, 1943, includes a cylindrical lead-receiving portion or passageway 26. A long shoe 21 fits into the lead-receiving portion 26 and is I adapted to be depressed into engagement with the lead, not shown, by means of a pair of screws 28 so as to clamp the lead between one wall of lead-receiving portion 26 and the shoe 21. Suitable means for preventing the screws 28 from being completely removed from the lead-receiving portion 26 may be provided. In order to hold the shoe 21 out of the way when putting a large lead into terminal-receiving portion 26, I provide retracting means comprising spring 29 which is connected to the shoe 21 by means of a guide pin 30, the lower end of which is spun over as shown at 3| into a depression 32 in shoe 21. A suitable washer 33 prevents the spring from dropping into the opening or aperture 34 in terminal-receiving portion 26, which opening 34 must necessarily be large enough to allow for angular displacement of pin 30. In order to permit spinning over of the end of pin 33, a suitable opening 35 is provided in the wall of leadreceiving portion 26 diametrically opposite the opening 34 for pin 30.

To the back of the housing or casing N), there is secured a mounting bar 36 for attachment of the cutout to a suitable supporting structure, not shown. This mounting bar 36 is preferably cemented into an external recess 36 in the housing ID in the same manner as are terminal supports l3.

In addition to terminal supports l3 and mounting bar 36, a pair of hinge supports 31 (Figs. 1, 5 and '7) are cemented into corresponding recesses 38 in the lower portion of housing l0, one on either side of the housing. These hinge supports 31, only one of which is visible in Fig. 1, each include a notch 39 within which suitable trunnions to be described hereinafter are mounted for pivotally supporting the door of housing l0.

In order to provide a closure for housing I0, I provide a cover or door 40 preferably made of a molded insulating compound or the like which includes an integral handle or eye 4| which may be either grasped manually or engaged by a. suitable form of switch stick to open and close the cover 40 with respect to housing III. Cover 40 is provided with a pair of recesses 42 only one of which is discernible in Fig. 1, since these recesses are in the same horizontal plane. The cover 40 is also provided with a barrier 43 which overlaps the creepage barrier I0 and thereby lessens the possibility of flashover between contacts by virtue of hot conducting gases passing therebetween, having an opening 44 therein which has sufficient clearance to accommodate a fuse tube 45 which may be of conventional construction having a pair of terminals or contacts 46 and 41 for engaging with the U-shaped contact clips 2|. Mounted within fuse tube 45 is the conventional fuse link preferably of the buttonhead type which is held in position by cap 48 screwed to the upper part of fuse tube 45. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the fuse link mounted within fuse tube 45 includes a fusible element and a strain wire arranged in parallel with a flexible conductor connected to the lower terminal of the fusible element. In Fig. 1, only the flexible conductor 49 of the fuse link is visible which includes a plurality of cables in order to carry the high currents involved. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the fuse including fuse tube 45 and the fusible link, only the flexible conductor 49 of which is visible in Fig. 1, operates on the expulsion principle to interrupt the circuit therethrough.

The fuse tube 45 is supported on door 40 and is assembled with the door by thrusting the fuse tube 45 to which upper contact and cap 48 have been assembled through opening 44 in barrier 43, A pair of pins 50 integrally connected to upper fuse contact 43 are arranged to be inserted in the recesses 42 in cover 40 so as properly to position the fuse tube 45. Contact 41 which includes an opening 41 is then slipped over fuse tube 45 and the fuse tube is locked into position by means of fuse support 5| having an opening 5| therein which is slipped over the lower end of the fuse tube 45 and screwed to the cover 40 as at 52. By allowing a small amount of clearance between pins 50 and recesses 42 and between opening 44 in barrier 43 and fuse tube 45, the upper fuse contact 46 may be made slightly floating on cover 40 so as to line up properly with the contact clips 2| of upper terminal assembly I I even when the cover 40 does not squarely seat in position on housing l-ll. Fuse support 5| having opening 5| therein for accommodating fuse tube 45 is provided with a pair of trunnions 53 for engaging the notches 39 in hinge supports 31, thereby providing a pivotal support for cover 40 and fuse tube 45.

Lower contact 41 is mounted on fuse tube support 5| by means of a pin 54 passing through trunnions 53. By allowing sufficient clearance between these parts, contact 41 may have a floating action relative to cover 40 so as to line up properly with contact clips 2| of lower terminal assembly l2. In order to prevent premature disengagement of the trunnions 53 from notches 39 when opening the door 40 of the fuse cutout, I provide on lower contact 41 a lug 56 which engages with the extension l8 of the lower terminal assembly |2 and effectively prevents such premature disengagement. Lug 56 is provided with a thumb screw 51 extending therethrough and having a substantially rectangular clamping shoe 58 mounted on the other end of the thumb screw for clamping the flexible conductor or cable 49 against projection 59 integrally associated with contact 41. In order to provide good electrical contact between contact clips 2i and contacts 48 and 41, each of the contacts 45 and 41 is provided with raised restricted contact ourfaces 60 which are preferably formed of a metal. the oxide of which does not substantially interfere with the conduction of current. Silver, for example, is a suitable metal for such purpose since its oxide is relatively unstable physically, and consequently, raised restricted contacts of silver are very satisfactory although any other suitable metal may be used.

In order to provide prompt fuse link terminal separation in that range of fault currents where there is not sufiicient expulsion action caused by the arc in fuse tube 45, I provide an articulated fuse-link pull-out means which takes up a. very small amount of space and yet which provides for a wide separation between the fuse-link terminals. This articulated fuse-link pull-out means comprises a pair of rigid members or arms GI and 82. Arm 8| has a. forked portion 88 which is pivotally mounted to support 5| at 64. vA suitable spring 65 associated with support 64 and shown in the exploded view of Fig. 3 is provided to bias arm 6| in. a counterclockwise direction with reference to the view shown in Fig. 1 so as to tend to assume the dotted position shown. Arm 62 is provided witha drumlike portion 66 which houses a driving spring 61. This drumlike portion is pivotally mounted as at 68 to arm 6| with the spring 61 arranged to tend to cause clockwise rotation of arm 82 above pivot 68 with reference to Fig. 1. A suitable stop member 69 is provided on drum 6 of arm 82 to engage with a corresponding stop member 70 on arm 6| to limit the clockwise rotation of arm 62 about pivot 68 and cause arm 62 to assume the dotted position indicated in Fig. 1 when unrestrained by conductor 49. Arm '2 is provided with a forked end H to accommodate the conductor 49. When the fuse device of Fig. 1 is loaded, arm 62 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction with reference to arm 6| in the manner of a jack-knife moved to the closed position and arm Si is rotated in a clockwise direction about pivot 64 with reference to the view of Fig. 1. Thereafter conductor 48 is passed within fork H and over drum 66, as best shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and is clamped between clamping shoe 58 and projection 59 so as to hold the articulated fuselink pull-out means comprising arms 61 and 62 in the position indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. With the drum or spool-like portion 66 arranged over spring '51, molten metal contained in the arc blast expelled from the bottom of fuse tube 45 is .j

prevented from injuring spring 61. Also, by virtue of the double arms 81' and 62, both'of which are spring biased, the heavy cables making up conductor 48 are pulled from the end of fuse tube 45 at high speed. Since the forked portion H of arm 62 will tend to follow the conductor 49 rather than slide therealong upon blowing of the fuse, it follows that friction and binding are reduced to a minimum,

- In view of the detailed description included above, the operation of my fuse cutout device will be obvious. As soon as the fusible section of the fuse link melts, the strong spring pressure applied by springs 65 and 61 to arms BI and 82, respectively, causes the remaining portion of the fuse link and particularly conductor 49 to'be pulled quickly out of the tube to insure rapid arc interruption even at low current. After operation of the fuse device, the arms-6i and 62 extend downwardly in the dotted position shown and serve as a very satisfactory indicating means to show clearly that the circuit is open. By use of such an articulated pull out means, a sufficiently long operating stroke is obtained to pull the conductor 4!! completely out of the fuse tube without requiring any large space within the cutout housing to accommodate the same in the unoperated position.

The fuse cutout described heretofore may readily be converted to a disconnect type of cutout by replacing door 40 with a door including a disconnecting blade as shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7. The corresponding. parts of the housing are identical with those shown in Figs. 1 to 4 and are, accordingly, designated by the same reference numerals. Referring now to Figs. 5. 6, and 7. I have indicated a disconnect cutout in which the housing It is closed by means of a door or closure member 12 preferably vmadeof a molded insulating compound or the like and including an integral handle or eye 13. In this respect, cover 12 is substantially identical with cover 40 of Fig. 1. Fasteued tow the lower inside portion of cover I2 as at 14 is a support 15 substantially identical with sup port SI of Fig. 1 except that the support is slotted at 16 to permit pivoting of a disconnecting blade 11. Support 15 is provided with trunnions 18 identical with the trunnions 53 of Pig. 1 which are adapted to be mounted in the notches 38 of hinge supports 31. Blade TI is pivotally mounted to support I5 by means of a pin 18 passing through trunnions 18. Suitable means for holding pin 19 in position should be provided. One such means results from employing the method of prick punching one of the trunnions 18 thereby locking the pin I8 in position. A suitable spring is mounted in a recess 8i in the lower portion of blade 11 and presses against pin 19 to tend to bias blade 11 upwardly but to permit a. downward movement of blade 11 for reasons enumerated hereinafter.

As in Fig. 1, in order to prevent premature disengagement of trunnions '18 from notches 39 of hinge supports 31, I provide an extension or pro- J'ection 82 on disconnect blade 11 which is adapted to engage with the extension i8 of lower terminal assembly l2 so that, upon opening the door 12 of the disconnect cutout, disengagement of trunnions 18 and notches 89 cannot occur until a predetermined opening position of door '12 has been attained.

Disconnect blade 11 is preferably a solid conductor having spaced contacts 83 and 84 thereon for engaging with the respective upper and lower contact .cllps 2| of cutout housing III. In order to insure good electrical contact, contacts 83 and 84 are preferably provided with raised restricted contact surfaces 85 similar to the contact surfaces 60 of Figs. 1 and 2.

In order to hold disconnect blade 11 in a parallel position with respect to door 12, I provide a knob 86 suitably fastened to door 12 and having an enlargement 81 thereon for cooperating with a notch 88 in the upper end of disconnect blade 11. As mentioned above, spring 8| tends to bias disconnect blade 11 in an upward direction to maintain the enlarged portion 81 of knob 86 in the latched or engagedposition with respect to the notch 88 of disconnect blade 11. The disconnect cutout illustrated in Fig. 5 is not designed to open the circuit while the circuit is carrying full-load current but it will interrupt small currents such as a transformer exciting current. In order to prevent burning of the contact 85 and associated contact clips 2i under such conditions, disconnecting blade 11 is provided with an arcing tip 89 at the upper end thereof.

When the circuit is to remain disconnected for a time, the conducting. disconnect blade Il may be moved downwardly, upOn bodily removal of door 12 from housing 10, against the compression of spring Bl to unlatch notch 88 from knob 86 and blade ll may be pivoted to hang downwardly in the dotted position shown in Fig. and the door 72 may be reclosed to prevent snow and ice from entering the housing ID. The disconnecting blade hanging downwardly in the dotted position shown will provide a suitable indication that the circuit through the cutout is open.

The contact clips 2| engaging with contacts 83 and 84 maintain the blade and consequently the disconnect door 12 in the closed position when the cutout is arranged for carrying current. However,

in order to hold the cutout in the closed position when the disconnect blade 11 is rotated to the dotted position shown and contact clips 2| no longer engage with contacts 83 and 84, I provide contact clip '25 associated with terminal assembly I l in housing for engaging the enlargement 81 of knob 86 and insuring that cover 12 remains in the closed position under such conditions.

The operation of the indicating disconnect cutout, which is disclosed and claimed in my divisional application, Serial No. 490,824, filed June 14, 1943, and illustrated in Figs. 5, 6, and 7 will be obvious in view of the detailed description included above.

While I have shown and described what I at present consider the preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from my invention and I, therefore, aim in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a fuse cutout device, the combination of a housing, a pair of spaced stationary electrical terminals mounted therein, a door for said housing, a fuse tube mounted on said door and adapted to be located within said housing upon closure of said housing by said door, a pair of spaced contacts on said fuse tube, means for electrically connecting each of said contacts with a corresponding on of said spaced terminals, a fuse link in- Clllding a fusible element mounted in said fuse tube electrically interconnecting said contacts, and an articulated fuse link pull-out means supported by said door comprising a pair of springdriven arms arranged to be jack-knifed with respect to one another during the unblown condition of said fuse link and capable of being extended downwardly from said door at high speed to extract a portion of said fuse link from said fuse tube upon rupture of said fusible element. said pair of spring driven arms being'both arranged to be substantially perpendicular to said use tube in their jack-knifed position and both substantially parallel to said fuse tube in their extended position.

2. In a fuse cutout device, the combination of a housing, a door for closing an open side of said housing, spaced contacts in said housing, a member mounted at one end of said door for relatin said door to said housing, a fuse tube supported by said door, a .fuse link including. a fusible element mounted in said fuse tube, means including said fuse link for electrically interconnecting said spaced contacts in said housing, an articulated fuse-link pull-out means comprising a first and a second arm, means for pivotally supporting said first arm from said member, a first spring means for rotating said first arm relative to said member, a second spring means for rotating said second arm relative to said first arm, and means including said fuse link for holding said arms in a jack-knifed position against the force of said spring means during the unblown condition of said fuse link, said spring means being capable of causing said arms to be extended downwardly from said housing for extracting a portion of said fuse link from said fuse tube upon rupture of said fusible element, said downwardly extending arms indicating the blown condition of said fuse link.

3. In a fuse cutout device, the combination of a housing, a door for closing an open side of said housing, spaced contacts in said housing, a member mounted at one end of said door for relating said door to said housing, a fuse tube supported by said member, a fuse link including a fusible element mounted in said fuse tube, means including said fuse link for electrically interconnecting said spaced contacts in said housing, an articulated fuse-link pull-out means comprising a first and a second arm, means for pivotally supporting said first arm from said member, a first spring means for rotating said first arm relative to said member, a second spring means for rotating said second arm relative to said first arm, means associated with said second arm for preventing particles expelled from said fuse tube upon rupture of said fusible element from coming in contact with said second spring means, and means including said fuse link for holding said arms in a jackknifed position against the force of said spring means during the unblown condition of said fuse link, said spring means being capable of causing said arms to be extended downwardly from said housing for extracting a portion of said fuse link from said fuse tube upon rupture of said fusible element, said downwardly extending arms indicating the blown condition of said fuse link.

4. An electric circuit interrupter comprising a housing, a door for closing an open side of said housing, spaced contact assemblies in said housing, a. pair of hinge supports having trunnionreceiving notches therein supported in said housing, a member mounted at one end of said door and having a pair of trunnions thereon for pivotally supporting said door to said casing when said trunnions engage said trunnion-receiving notches. a fuse tube supported by said member, a fuse link including a fusible element mounted in said fuse tube for completing the electrical circuit between said contact assemblies when said trunnion engage said trunnion-receiving notches and said door closes the open side of said housing, fuse link clamping means supported by said member and having an extension thereon for engaging with one of said contact assemblies to prevent premature disengagement of said trunnions from said trunnion-receiving notches upon opening the door of said housing, and an articulated fuse-link pull-out means supported from said member for rapidly extracting a portion of said fuse link from said fuse tube upon rupture of said fusible element and thereafter indicating the blown condition of said fusible element.

5. In an electric circuit interrupter, the combination comprising a housing, a door for closing an open side of said housing, spaced contacts mounted in said housing, a fuse tube mounted on said door of said housing, a fuse link including a fusible element and aflexible cable portion arranged to complete the electrical circuit between said contacts in said housing, said flexible cable portion extending from the lower end of said fuse tube, an articulated fuse link pull-out means including a forked cable-engaging portion supported from the lower end of said door, means constantly biasing said articulated pull-out means to assume an elongated position extending through an openin in the bottom of said housing, and means including said flexible cable portion of said fuse link for causing said pull-out means to assume a jack-knifed position in said housing and to be held in said position by the tension of said fuse link against the force of said last-mentioned means so as to take up a minimum of space in said housing, said articulated fuse link pull-out means being arranged so as to be substantially perpendicular to said fuse tube when in said jack-knifed position and to be substantially parallel to said fuse tube when in said elongated position, aid cable-engaging portion being arranged to pull said fuse link completely out of said fuse tube upon rupture of said fusible element.

6. In combination, a fuse tube having a pair of contacts associated therewith, a support for said fuse tube, a fuse link mounted within said fuse tube including a fusible element and a flexible cable portion arranged to complete the electrical circuit between said contacts, said flexible cable portion extending from the lower end of said fuse tube, an articulated fuse-link pull-out means includin a forked cable-engaging portion pivoted to said support, means constantly biasing said articulated pull-out means to assume an elongated position extending below said fuse tube, and means including said flexible cable portion of said fuse link for causing said pull-out means to be held in a restrained jack-knifed position against the force in said last-mentioned means to be in readiness for quickly pulling said fuse link out of said fuse tube upon rupture of said fusible element, said articulated fuse link pull-out means being arranged so as to be substantially perpendicular to said fuse tube when in said jack-knifed position and to be substantially parallel to said fuse tube when in said elongated position.

7. In combination, a fuse tube having a, pair of contacts associated therewith, a support for said fuse tube, a fuse link mounted within said fuse tube including a fusible element and a flexible cable portion arranged to complete the electrical circuit between said contacts, said flexible cable portion extending from the lower end of said fuse tube, an articulated fuse-link pull-out means pivoted to said support, spring means constantly biasing said articulated pull-out means to assume an elongated position extending [below said fuse tube, means including said flexible cable portion of said fuse link for causing said pull-out means to be held in a restrained jack-knifed position against the force in said spring means to be in readiness for quickly pulling said flexible cable portion out of said fuse tube upon rupture of said fusible element, and means associated with said pull-out means for preventing material expelled from said fuse tube from coming in contact with said spring means.

8. In combination, a fuse tube having a pair of contacts'associated therewith, a support for said fuse tube, a fuse link mounted within said fuse tube including a fusible element and a flexible cable portion arranged to complete the electrical circuit between said contacts, said flexible cable portion extending from the lower end of said fuse tube, an articulated fuse-link pull-out means pivoted to said support, spring means constantly biasing said articulated pull-out means to assume an elongated position extending below said fuse tube, means including said flexible cable portion of said fuse link for causing said pull-out means to be held in a restrained iack-knifed position against the force in said spring means to be in readiness for quickly pulling said flexible cable portion out of said fuse tube upon rupture of said fusible element, and a drumlike portion associated with saidpull-out means for guiding said flexible cable and for preventing the material expelled from said fuse tube from coming in contact with said spring means.

9. In an electric device, the combination of a housing, a door for closing an open side of said housing, spaced contact assemblies in said housing, a, pair of hinge supports having trunnion receiving notches therein supported in said housing, a member mounted at one end of said door and having a pair of trunnions thereon for pivotally supporting said door to said housing when said trunnions engage said trunnion-receiving notches, a fuse devic at least partially supported by said member including a pair of spaced contacts for engaging said spaced contact assemblies in said housing when said door is in the closed position relative to said housing, a fuse link in said fuse device electrically interconnecting said spaced contacts, a lug associated with one of said spa'ced contacts of said fuse device for engaging with one of said contact assemblies so as to prevent premature disengagement of said trunnions from said trunnion-receiving notches upon opening of said door, and an articulated fuse link pullout means for rapidly extracting a portion of said fuse link from said fuse device upon operation of said fuse device.

10. In an electric circuit interrupter, the com bination comprising a housing, a door for closing an open side of said housing, spaced contacts mounted in said housing each having a conductorreceiving passageway with an aperture in one wall thereof and a spring-retracted clamping shoe guided by a pin extending through said aperture, the spring for retracting said clamping shoe being mounted outside of said conductor receiving passageway, a fuse tube mounted on said door of said housing, a fuse link including a fusible element and a flexible cable portion arranged to complete the electrical circuit between said contacts in said housing, said flexible cable portion extending from the lower end of said fuse tube, and a spring-driven articulated fuse-link pull-out means supported by said door for rapidly extracting a portion of said flexible cable from said fuse tube upon rupture of said fusible element.

BENJAMIN R. HERMANN. 

